Women Under Islam: Gender, Justice and the Politics of Islamic Law: Christina Jones-Pauly: I.B. Tauris

Women Under Islam

Gender, Justice and the Politics of Islamic Law

Women Under Islam

Gender, Justice and the Politics of Islamic Law

Description

How Islam treats women is one of the most hotly contested questions of our times. Islamic law is often misrepresented as a single monolithic concept, rather than a collection of different interpretations and practices. To move the debate on Islamic law and gender forward, it is necessary to establish how Islamic law actually operates. This groundbreaking work explores what conditions sustain the most liberal interpretation of Islamic law on gender issues. It examines the different interpretations, histories and practices of Islamic law in different countries. It finds that the political independence of judicial institutions is a far more important factor than the relative conservativism of the society. This wide-ranging book will provide new insights not only for those studying law and gender, but for anyone with an interest in Islamic societies.

Foreword by The Rt. Hon. Lord Justice Thorpe
Acknowledgements
Introduction

1 TUNISIA - THE IDEAL ISLAMIC REFORM

Introduction
Historical roots
Modernity
Modern intellectual reformers of Islamic law - Taalbi
Abusive practices against women: dar jawad (house of discipline)
Tahar Haddad - successor to Taalbi
Pre-Independence and reform of Sharia
Independence - equality before the law
Population law
Infanticide
Fundamentalism

2 EGYPT - CONSERVATIVE INCREMENTAL REFORM

Introduction
Arabization and Islamization of Egypt and class stratification
The modern state - arrival of the Europeans
Reform movements in the 19th century on women's rights
Religious reformers: Muhammad Abduh
Reform movements: Salafiyya, Rashid Rida
Secular reform movements: Haykal
Islam and the state Court systems
Political background since 1952
Efforts to codify and reform the law of personal status
Reforming the wife's right to divorce - Law No. 1 of 2000
Women's Council
Female circumcision
Conclusions

3 PAKISTAN - ORTHODOX MODERNITY

Historical background
The start of Independence
A Muslim ruler/state - in need of an Islamic law?
The 1973 Constitution - basis of applying Islamic law
Judicial review of Islamic laws
Judicial review of the Offence of Zina Ordinance
May a husband kill a wife or her partner for adultery?
Is an honour murder because of zina permissible under any circumstances?
Reforming Pakistani Islamic criminalization of laws: honour killings and zina
Conclusions
Postscript on the Protection of Women Act 2006

4 SOUTH AFRICA - CONSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGESFOR ISLAMIC LAW

Introduction
A brief history of the Muslim Malay community
Islamic law in South African jurisprudence - the 'Malay' Cape community
The Muslim Asian Indian community
The apartheid era and Islamic marriages
Summary of South African jurisprudence on the application of Islamic law
Judicial recognition of Muslim marriages in post-apartheid South Africa
Extra-judicial practices in South African Muslim communities
Extra-judicial interpretations in the Asian Muslim communities of Islamic marriage and divorce law Inheritance inequality and the South African Constitution - a comparative view
Approaching Islamic succession/inheritance law in a new light
Theological and power disputes within the Muslim communities
Religious sects
Islamic dispute settlement - extra-judicial conflict resolution in the Muslim communities
Considerations for statutory recognition of Muslim marriages
Conclusions

5 CONCLUSIONS

Notes
Bibliography
Index